yee haw

yesterday i went to the rodeo. i felt so cowboy. i honestly haven't been to a rodeo since junior high, but john got some free tickets and gretchen wilson was the concert, so i went and actually had a good time. i'm pretty okay with most of the rodeo competitions, but i have to say that i have a problem with the calf roping. i just don't like how they lasso the poor thing around the neck, throw it on the ground, and tie its feet together. so, i always made a point of cheering when the calf outran the cowboy. i got some stares and john was a bit embarrassed but who cares.

today i officially graduated from physical therapy. i met all of my goals and am now left to my own devices. my foot is so much better than when i started the pt, but i still have to keep working on it. it was sad to leave because i loved my pt and pta, but i'm so happy to be walking normally again.

retreat in pink

i've spent today fine-tuning my little pink sanctuary and am loving it! there's still a lot to do, but window treatments always do a lot, don't you think?

under the weather

it's almost lunchtime, and i have completely wasted the morning. well, not exactly. i did get some bills paid and i finished my french homework for class tomorrow, but i haven't actually done any of the work i actually get paid for. honestly, though, i just feel exceptionally "blah" today. i woke up with a sore throat and runny nose that hasn't gone away. i'm not necessarily feeling like a cold is coming on, but i just feel drained and lifeless.

the good news is that i'm about to head over to the yoga studio to officially sign up for classes. they start in two weeks, and i'm really excited. and i finally found some frames for a couple of awesome vegas pics. this picture of the frame does not do it justice.



now, i just need to figure out what i want for lunch today. you know, the truly difficult decisions of life. :)

sling cast no more

i'm officially cast-free! i had my follow-up appointment with the orthopaedic surgeon and he gave me the okay to start walking without it. and while i still have some work to do on my ankle, he was very impressed with my progress. i've got 3 more physical therapy sessions and then i'm completely finished. i'll still need to continue with the exercises on my own, but things are looking pretty good. i'm walking without a limp and i can actually go down a flight of stairs. yea for the little things.

new things

i'm very excited because i'm going to be starting yoga classes on feb. 18th. while i've had a sort of on again off again home practice, i've never taken a proper yoga class. there's a new yoga studio that opened in new braunfels, two rivers yoga, that really seems like a good place. so, i'm very excited.

also next month, i have my first jury trial since starting this job. i've done a handful of jury trials before, but they always make me nervous. i think i'm good to go, but now it's just the nit-picky things. hopefully, the artist's way class that i'm starting in a few weeks will help keep things in perspective for me.

for march, i've signed up for a beading class, which i'm so excited for. i've been looking for either a beading or painting class, and this was the first one that i came across. it's a a neat little bead shop in san antonio, and i can't wait!

in may, pink martini is coming to austin. interestingly, john is the one who told me about the concert. pink martini isn't really his style of music, so i thought it was sweet that he asked if i want to go.

anyway, don't know why i felt like giving a rundown of my calendar, but i find it so inspiring how all these wonderful opportunities are finally coming.

frustration

bonjour! i'm a bit overwhelmed by my french class. don't get me wrong, i'm still loving it, but i just feel like such a dummy when i try to speak. like any language, or anything new, it just takes a lot of practice. i certainly didn't learn english overnight. i'm trying to think of some ways to practice during the day - either make cards to post around my office or at least start using french salutations with my co-workers (won't they just love me). so, i guess on that note . . .

bonsoir!

bonjour!

today was classe deux in french. it wasn't quite as overwhelming today as it was last week. i definitely need to practice more between classes, so my friends and co-workers better be prepared.

right now i am at work, supposedly working. as expected, it is not going well. so much for good intentions.

on a livelier note, check out these curtains. they are so going into my pink suite.



love them!

love 3 day weekends

after a wonderful 3 day weekend, i'm back to the old grind, aka work. this weekend was lots of fun. saturday morning i had my first french class. so, i had to wake up at 6:30 a.m. to get dressed and drive one hour to the class location in austin. so far, i'm pretty lost, but i'm hoping it gets easier over time. after my class, i drove to dallas to visit a dear friend. she was the one who helped/laughed at me when i had my car "incident" this past thanksgiving. we had dinner on saturday at a french restaurant called mignon. it was great, but i was so sick the next morning and the rest of sunday i was achy and had a fever. i'm not sure what happened, but it kind of freaked me out since i don't get sick too often. but, of course i wasn't so sick that i couldn't go shopping. so sunday we browsed around north park mall. my friend bought some shoes for a steal at barney's and i got tons of new makeup at nordstrom's. afterwards, we saw the movie 27 dresses, which was just adorable. having been a bridesmaid numerous times myself, i definitely saw the humor. since my friend is not smart like me, she works for a private law firm and did not have monday off. so, off to work she went and i met up with her for lunch before heading home. all in all, it was a good weekend.

i had physical therapy again for my ankle. i'm very happy with my progress. when i point my foot, it actually points now. i've also grown to enjoy the one-on-one time with the therapist. i'm going to miss having that little luxury when i'm finished, but it's gotten me to thinking about how i can find something similar. there is a ymca next door to the rehab center and i found its website this afternoon. not only does it have yoga and pilates classes that i can attend after work, it also has pilates reformer personal training. i thought that might a great opportunity to get some personal attention on my fitness.

2008 lookin' good

today was a bit yucky. not only was the weather cold and rainy, but i came down with yet another cold. so, i called in sick to work and fully intended to do some legal research while sitting at home, but slept instead. this afternoon i had my 3rd round of physical therapy for my ankle. it really seems to be working, so i hope to be in cute shoes again soon. i even got a foot massage during today's session! another positive is that i found a local yoga studio today that actually looks normal, AND i think i'll finally be starting an artist's way class soon. what with this and my french classes, i really feel like this year is going to be special.

so, this weekend is my first french class! my teacher's name is brigitte. how awesomely french is that? i've tried looking at the texts for the class, but everything is in french. this is nothing like my high school spanish class. after my class this friday, i'm driving up to dallas to visit a friend for the weekend. so excited!

weekend

yea! i officially signed up for my french classes this past saturday. every saturday i'll be driving 1 hour each way to austin for my class, but i think it will be worth it. after i signed up for my class, john and i met some friends who live in north austin for lunch. they brought their two little kids, which made me kind of nervous at first, but they are very well behaved. almost made me wish for one of my own . . . almost.

alliance francaise

i am mucho excited, as i am officially taking french classes. the french alliance in austin offers classes and i will be starting on january 19. france, here i come!

back to the grind

well, things are starting to look better, health-wise. my cold is pretty much gone, just a little drainage every now and then. wednesday i visited an orthopaedic surgeon for my ankle and he took me out of the huge air cast i'd been sporting for several weeks and put me in a much more discrete sling cast thing. which means that i can wear normal shoes, albeit only flats, and the cast part is hidden under my pants. he also reassured me that i would not need surgery, just some physical therapy. so i'm now on the hunt for a local physical therapist that i'll have to visit 3 times a week for a month. i feel much better because i had a feeling all along that that was what i needed. yea!

yesterday, one of the other attorneys brought her daughter to work and we had such a good time together! she even encouraged me to finally buy a pair a heelys. they should be sent to me some time next week. i can't wait! i also bought a few pics from kodak.com of the vegas trip. john took a beautiful one of the eiffel tower that i had blown up to 16x20 in black and white, as shown above. it is going to look so awesome in my office! viva la france!

happy new year's!

so, tonight is new year's eve. i'm sitting at home alone with my 3 dogs while john is in odessa visiting his family. i've enjoyed the solitude during my long weekend, as i'm recovering from a yucky cold and just needed some time to veg out and relax. i'm spending new year's eve alone, but i'm okay with that. the pups and i are just watching some movies and drinking champagne (well, only i am drinking the champagne!). i've also just listened to the hip tranquil chick podcast on setting goals for the year, so i figured i'd spend some time on that.

kimberly first said that we should reflect on the lessons we learned during 2007. i guess a couple of big ones for me are to take risks, listen to your intuition, and take trips. at the end of may, i left a wonderful job in a small, out of the way town to move back to san antonio to be with john. i left without having a new job - a HUGE risk and a very un-me thing to do. but something inside me told me it was the right thing and i was right. i ended up finding a new and equally wonderful job within a month of my move. it really did just seem to fall into my lap. kind of like someone was watching over me. :) also, john and i took our first proper vacation together to las vegas a couple of weeks ago for his 30th birthday. while vegas is not a major thing for most, it was huge for me. i've always talked about traveling, but always told myself i couldn't because i didn't have enough money or time. taking that trip was such an inspiring and invigorating thing for me. it's made me so much more confident that i will see the world!

now on to my "resolutions" for 2008. kimberly suggests that we list our larger goals and then create smaller, specific goals that will help us achieve the bigger goal. so, here's my list for 2008:

1. get into a yoga classroom instead of just home practice
a. enroll in local studio's beginner series class
2. prepare for trip to France
a. take French class in January
b. get passport
c. save $100/month for trip
3. lose 30 lbs.
a. reduce soda intake (1/day)
b. daily exercise (yoga, walking dogs, etc)
c. eat soup regularly (heard this helps)
d. drink more water and green tea
4. stay pretty
a. wax every month
b. nails filled every 2 weeks
c. pedicure every month
d. hair care every month

it's not excessively long, but i think that's enough to keep me busy for the year. it's also a bit superficial, what with the lose weight and stay pretty resolutions, but since i've started working, i have to say that i've let that area slide a bit. so, i need to work on it. here's to 2008! time to enjoy some more champagne.

honestly, when are the health problems going to end!?! first the ankle that won't heal and now i've been plagued by a cold for three days now. it's just becoming so frustrating. it has been over 5 weeks since my lovely running into the garage incident and my ankle is still messed up. i've been to a podiatrist, had an mri, and am now scheduled to see an orthapedic surgeon next week. i just really want this to be over with. i'm tired of limping and not being able to work out. i know i should be grateful and stop complaining, but i'm just so tired. anyway, had to take a minute to vent.

merry christmas

i can't believe christmas is already over! time is slipping away so fast. i know i'm starting to sound like my parents, but it's crazy how fast things are going. the holiday weekend went pretty well. john and i drove to my parents' house on friday evening. we pretty much lounged around the entire weekend and did a whole lot of nothing. john spent a lot of time with his sister, we drove around looking at christmas lights, and i drank many starbuck's peppermint white chocolate mochas. but, regardless of the relaxing facade, visiting parents is just stressful. i've told john that next year we are staying put, because, when I think about it, i have traveled for the holidays for over 10 years now. i think it's time for a real break. anyway, here's a picture of my little bentley in his santa hat with john's sister. notice how happy he looks?

vegas!

john and i got back late last night after a long weekend in vegas! it was our first time there, and i have to say that i am in love. my absolute favorite thing was paris, of course, but another favorite was the cirque du soleil show that we saw our last night. so amazing.

we also made a stop by the playboy club at the palms. john fulfilled a right of passage by getting his picture taken with a playboy bunny. the club was okay, but left a lot to be desired. cirque was much more entertaining, as was dinner at the eiffel tower restaurant.

so, vacation is now over, and it's time to get back to work. but, i'm already planning my next trip to vegas. so many things to see, and never enough time!

ongoing problems

well, my car is still in the shop. i was so hoping it would be ready by friday, but alas. which means that i had to go with john to his work this morning so he could drive me to my spa appointment that is nearby. so much for sleeping in this morning. also, we're leaving for vegas next weekend, and i just realized that we need to do something with the dogs. i just got off the telephone with my mom (who lives in houston, by the way) after asking her if she would watch our three dogs. needless to say, i don't think she was ecstatic, but she did agree. so now we have to drive to houston after work today to drop off the pups. my poor babies. i'm so not ready for vegas and my foot is still in bad shape. these ongoing problems are really getting old.

wasting

i'm at work and obviously distracting myself from what i'm getting paid to do. it's really more of a combination of the insane cold and the fact that i'm am very tired. sadly, it is probably only 65 degrees in here, but that is still way too cold for me. i've got my little space heater on and my heating pad to keep my feet warm. i don't know why i'm tired, other than the fact that i have to be at work at 6:45 a.m. every morning since my car is in the shop and john has to drop me off before he goes to work. and i just learned from the mechanic that my car will not be ready until the end of the week, so that is at least one more day of immobility.

progress

well, i'm still here. almost one week after the drama and i'm still hanging out on the couch with my foot propped up on pillows. i did manage to go to work yesterday, but after standing all day in court, my foot was not looking too good. today, i'm actually seeing huge progress and my foot is starting to look like a foot again, albeit a very bruised foot. it's interesting that as my foot heals, it actually starts to become more bruised. i hope that's a sign of healing. i'm still requiring the use of crutches, but am able to actually put some pressure on my foot. it's going to be a slow process, but i think i will eventually be back to my old self. hopefully, before my vegas trip. nothing says unsexy like a gimp.

oopsie!

as promised, here are pics from my recent "incident." here is the garage that my car rolled into after i jumped out of it. notice the support beam and crime scene tape.

my car, amazingly, came away relatively unscathed.

i can't say the same about my ankle though . . .